Hospital M&A activity accelerated in the fourth quarter of 2017. The number of hospital acquisitions rose to 21 in the fourth quarter, up 40% from the 15 publicly announced acquisitions in the third quarter of 2017. Compared with the same quarter in 2016, which posted 23 transactions, activity was down 9%. None of the transactions […]

Despite all the big deals announced in December, the fourth quarter of 2017 wasn’t one for the record books. Merger and acquisition activity was busy, but compared with the previous quarter and the same period in 2016, the pace wasn’t frenetic. Our preliminary data shows 357 transactions were announced in Q4:17, down a slight 4% […]

Hard on the heels of the merger announcement between Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives came the news that Ascension Health and Providence St. Joseph Health were in their own talks to merge. The Dignity/CHI deal will create a 139-hospital system spanning 28 states, with revenue of more than $28 billion. If the Ascension/Providence merger […]

Perhaps it was the anticipation of the Thanksgiving holiday, or the holiday itself, that caused the sudden slump in deal volume. Too much turkey, too little focus on finishing up those transactions? Or we could blame the Republicans’ mad dash to pass their tax “reform” legislation before the end of the year. Both houses of […]

The Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust unit has been very active in the health care sector in recent years, thanks in part to the steady beat of hospital mergers and acquisitions taking place. In 2015, 102 hospital transactions were announced, up slightly from 99 the year before. Halfway through 2016, we’ve recorded 48 hospital deals, which is […]